Okay, so I hope this is the right place to post this, but I had an idea (and very little actual know-how) and wanted to know what people in the know thought of it. Okay, so here goes... stop me if any of my presumptions are faulty, but...

(1) recorded music is just a complex waveform over time (different frequencies superimposed on one another)(2) "regular" speakers recreate this with an electromagnet and a diaphragm...

so here is the idea... could a recording of, say, a person singing, be discernibly (not perfectly by means) reproduced using a rig as described below.

(1) x number of precisely tuned bells, such that, given the available frequencies, most frequencies within the human hearing range can be more or less recreated by some combination (i know there is an embedded math problem, but my uneducated instinct says some application of the birthday paradox (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday_paradox)) of the given bells(2) each bell fitted with an individual ringing mechanism (servo motor?), possibly something resembling a bicycle spoke with multiple strikers on a wheel that can be spun quickly to emulate some sustain.and(3) a computer and program to translate the given audio file into something the bell rig can play.

Do you think this is possible? Are there any huge holes in my logic or understanding? Something I am not thinking of? Bear in mind you are speaking to someone who studied russian lit and only has a passing familiarity with this stuff. Thanks in advance for your time or comments.